


Don’t Hold Your Breath

by TheWeatherOutside



Series: Whumptober 2020 [1]
Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Angst, Buried Alive, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Near Death Experiences, Panic Attacks, Tight Spaces, Whumptober, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:15:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26747929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWeatherOutside/pseuds/TheWeatherOutside
Summary: Gordon woke up trapped, underground, and running out of air.
Series: Whumptober 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1959214
Comments: 13
Kudos: 28
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Don’t Hold Your Breath

**Author's Note:**

> It's time for the first fic of whumptober 2020!!
> 
> Whumptober prompts used: Waking Up Restrained, Held at Gunpoint, Buried Alive, Rescue, Carrying, “Don’t Say Goodbye,” Struggling, Oxygen Mask, Panic Attacks, & Concussion.

“Don’t come any closer!”

“Okay! Okay, just put the gun down.” Gordon’s hands were in the air, as he stared down the barrel of the weapon that was being pointed directly at him.

“No.” The man across from him didn’t drop it, and instead took a closer step towards Gordon. Gordon went to take a step back, but the man’s grip on the weapon just tightened at the slight movement.

Gordon’s heart was racing as he tried to think of what to do. This was just supposed to be a simple, run of the mill rescue. He wasn’t supposed to end up as some kind of _hostage_.

He didn’t even know how it had happened. All he knew was that one minute he had been helping out a local construction crew whose crane had collapsed and almost brought a whole building down, and then the next minute he was suddenly standing in front of a man who was holding a gun at him.

He wanted to reach for his sash and call his brothers for help, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to do so without the man noticing.

Gordon couldn’t hear much over the pounding in his ears, but he was sure he heard a siren in the distance. The man wavered slightly, and his eyes flickered in the same direction that Gordon heard the sirens come from.

It was an opening that Gordon couldn’t miss, so he took it. As soon as the man’s gaze had flickered, Gordon threw himself at him.

He was only a couple of feet away from the man, so Gordon managed to reach him before he noticed what was happening and fired his gun.

However, the man was quick, and he swiftly had his arms around Gordon before he had successfully managed to knock the gun out of the man’s hand.

Gordon tried to struggle out of his grip, but he was too strong and wouldn’t let go. Abruptly, he threw Gordon onto the floor, and before Gordon had a chance to get up again, the barrel of the gun was swung into his temple.

When Gordon woke up, it was dark, and when he tried to move, his arms quickly hit something solid.

Blinking against the pounding in his head, Gordon quickly remembered what had happened. He didn’t know how he had ended up somewhere that was pitch black when it had been daylight outside, or why his movements were restricted.

Gordon felt around in the dark, and found that everywhere he moved he was met with something hard. He pushed against it, but it wouldn’t move. It was like he was in a box, but he couldn’t find a way out.

His stomach dropped as he realised that was true. He was stuck in box, and by the small size of it, it was likely a coffin. He started to panic and he pushed against the box harder, but it still wouldn’t budge. He began banging his fists against the lid in a hope that it would do something, ignoring how it hurt his hands and started to give him splinters.

This wasn’t good. He couldn’t get out no matter how hard he tried. He needed help.

Gordon reached for his watch and in the cramped space it was hard to lift it close to his mouth.

“Virg?” His first choice of person to call was the brother who had accompanied him on this rescue. He was nearby. He would help.

“Gordon, where are you? You’ve not been answering any calls.” Virgil’s voice was a blessing to hear, a beacon in this darkness, and suddenly caused tears to start to flood.

“I’m trapped-” Gordon broke off with a sob, and he had to suck in a breath before he continued. “I can’t get out.”

“What do you mean?” Virgil sounded concerned.

“I’m in some- some sort of box, it feels like a coffin.” Oh, but if it was a coffin then that would mean that the reason he couldn’t get out was because he was underground and if he was underground then that meant he was _buried alive_. “I can’t get out, Virgil. I can’t get _out_!”

“Gordon, breathe.”

Gordon hadn’t even realised that his breath had started to pick up, but now that it had started he couldn’t control it. Even with Virgil instructing him over the comms to breathe steadier, he couldn’t find a way to get himself to slow down. It was like there was no air in his lungs, and no matter how much he tried to suck it back in, nothing would work.

“Gordon, you need to calm down.”

He knew that. A voice in the back of his head was telling him that he needed to steady his breathing before he ran out of air, but he couldn’t focus on that. All he could focus on was that he was _trapped_.

“I’m going to get you out, Gordo, but I need you to breathe for me, alright?” Virgil’s voice came through the pounding in his head, his panic making his head hurt more, and finally he managed to get himself to listen.

Gordon stilled his struggles as he forced himself to suck in a shaky breath. Now he was allowing oxygen to get back into his lungs, his thoughts were becoming a tad clearer.

Virgil was coming for him. He just needed to stay calm until then and not run out of air.

But then a thought struck him. He felt around in the cramped space, and when he couldn’t find what he was looking for, he felt himself start to panic again.

His oxygen tank that he usually carried on his back was gone, along with his sash.

“Virg- my rebreather…it’s gone!” If he had that then he wouldn’t have to worry about running out of oxygen, but with it gone, he had limited time. And with how small the space he was in was, it wasn’t going to be long.

“ _Breathe_ , Gordon.” Virgil instructed him again in his same, kind voice, and Gordon forced himself to calm down. He was only making the time Virgil had to save him shorter.

“That’s better,” Virgil said after he heard Gordon’s steady breaths over the comm. “You still have your watch, which means we can still track your location. Just hold on.”

Virgil went quiet for a moment, but in the dark, silent box, each moment felt like an eternity.

“Do you know where I am yet?” Gordon knew he was sounding impatient, but he couldn’t help it. He needed to know if Virgil was on his way yet.

“John’s looking now,” Virgil replied calmly, fortunately not bothered by Gordon’s impatience. “I’ll be honest, you’re hard to find.”

Gordon appreciated the honesty, even if it did spark more panic through him, because he realised he knew something that could help.

“I think I’m underground somewhere.”

“Okay, that helps.” Gordon could imagine Virgil relaying the information to John, who would be directing his search vertically as opposed to horizontally.

A few agonising seconds passed which had Gordon worrying more and more that they still wouldn’t find him, but then Virgil finally broke the silence.

“I have your location. I’m on my way.”

Gordon felt his breath come a little easier at that. Virgil knew where he was and he was coming to get him. Surely, Gordon couldn’t have been far away, which meant that it wouldn’t be long before his brother rescued him.

Virgil’s voice disappeared and was replaced with John’s.

“Don’t forget to breathe and stay calm, Gordon.”

“Yeah, I know.” Gordon didn’t know why John was telling him that again, as he felt much calmer after his initial panic had faded and now that he was aware Virgil was on his way. Then again, there probably wasn’t much John could do for him up in space and he was trying to help in the only way he could.

“And don’t talk. You’ll just use up more air,” John pointed out, and Gordon felt his heart briefly stop at the thought of _running out of air_. But after a few more deep breaths, he let the fear pass and listened to his brother. He wasn’t going to run out of air because he was staying calm and keeping quiet and Virgil was coming for him.

After several moments of silence, John was convinced that Gordon was going to stay quiet like he told him to. Although, the air around Gordon just felt suffocating with nothing else to focus on, and it was like John knew that, because he started to talk to him.

It wasn’t anything noteworthy that was said, only mindless ramblings from John to keep Gordon’s mind occupied.

John wasn’t the type of person to ramble pointlessly, though, which meant that everything he said was carefully picked to fill the time and ensure Gordon stayed calm, whilst also doing the job of keeping Gordon from making any comments on the matter.

That also meant that when he didn’t mention Virgil’s progress at all, he was doing it on purpose.

“John?” Gordon cut into John’s accounts of what maintenance he’d done this month up on Five.

“Gord-” John tried to remind him how it was necessary to stay quiet, but Gordon needed to know.

“Where’s Virgil?”

There was silence on the other end of the line which did nothing to help Gordon stay calm. When John finally did speak, Gordon almost wished he hadn’t asked him anything.

“Something came up on the rescue and Virgil got held up. It’s taking him a little longer than we thought to reach you.” John was quiet, obviously reluctant to let Gordon know, and Gordon now knew why he hadn’t said anything.

“There’s no time!” Gordon didn’t even try to hide how frantic his voice sounded. Were they not aware that he had a _limited_ supply of _air_?

“I know,” John’s calm voice was a stark contrast to Gordon’s. “You know he would get to you if he could, but he can’t. He’s the closest one to you, though, so hang on, alright? He won’t be long.”

Virgil had told him he was on his way and he wasn’t, so John telling him he won’t be long didn’t bode well. But these were his brothers and deep down Gordon knew that they were doing everything they could to get to him. Then again, Gordon was also deep down in the ground and all rationality had been thrown out of the box before he’d been sealed in it.

Still, Gordon decided to not voice his annoyance. Instead he focused on breathing steadily and not let the thought of his brother not getting to him on time consume him.

When Gordon went silent again, John took that as his cue to continue talking. As John spoke, Gordon closed his eyes and pretended that this was the kind of night when John was having some downtime from Five, and he and Gordon would be sat by the pool and John would speak about the stars whilst Gordon listened. Not some moment where Gordon was underground and John was far away in space, without anything either of them could do.

Gordon wasn’t sure if it was because John’s subject of choice to keep Gordon company was beginning to reach a point of mind-numbingly _dull_ , or if it was because Gordon’s air supply was getting low, but his limbs were starting to feel heavy and he could feel sleep beginning to pull at the back of his mind.

He tried to concentrate on John’s words, but it was getting harder by the minute.

“John?” Gordon spoke for the first time in a while. Every now and then, he had provided John with a small hum or noise of acknowledgement to show his brother that he was still there, still listening, but now he wanted to say something, even if it would lessen his oxygen supply.

“Yeah, Gordon?” It was surprising that John wasn’t immediately telling him to be quiet, but Gordon didn’t have the energy to question that.

“I want to…speak to Virgil.” Gordon hadn’t realised how hard it would be to speak, but he was already feeling out of breath from just those few words.

“Gordon, I swear he is almost done. Just give him a few more minutes and then he’ll-”

“I know.” Gordon trusted his brother was coming for him, but he still wanted to talk to him now, whilst he still could. He didn’t feel like he had the energy to lift his watch and change the call to his other brother, so he hoped that John would.

“Alright,” John said after a moment. He seemed hesitant, but he still fulfilled Gordon’s request.

A few seconds passed and then Gordon heard a new voice.

“I’m just finishing up here, Gordon. Just hang on,” Virgil sounded stressed and frantic. If Gordon closed his eyes, he could picture his brother running around to get to his brother on time. It made Gordon smile.

“Virg. If- if you don’t make it in time-”

“No, Gordon!” Virgil’s voice filled the tight space that Gordon was in, his panicked voice ringing around him. “Don’t- don’t do that. Don’t say goodbye.”

“S’not your fault…” Gordon’s voice slurred as he used the minimal air he had left, but he needed his brother to know. He wouldn’t blame him for not finding him fast enough.

“I’m leaving now. Please, just…hold on.”

Gordon tried. He tried for his family, for Virgil who would live with the guilt of letting his brother disappear under his watch for the rest of his life, despite what Gordon had told him. He fought the pull of sleep for as long as he could, wouldn’t let his eyelids slip closed no matter how heavy they felt, no matter how hard it was.

But it was not easy at all. He tried, but without even realising it, he ended up slipping under.

* * *

Virgil was sprinting back to his ship. He threw his exo-suit onto the floor of the cockpit and darted to his pilot’s seat, not even bothering to store it neatly in the module.

Gordon needed him.

He didn’t even know how his little brother had gotten away from him. He had thought that Gordon was in another part of the construction site, but when he called for him over the comms and Gordon didn’t answer, Virgil knew something was wrong.

When Gordon eventually called him back in a panic, Virgil’s suspicions were confirmed.

He still didn’t understand how his brother had ended up in this predicament, but he didn’t think it was the best time to ask Gordon about it whilst he was stuck underground trying to conserve air. He just hoped that he still had a chance to ask him.

If it was Virgil’s choice, he would have flown over to his brother the moment he had first called, but he couldn’t. They were still in the middle of a rescue, and although none of the construction crew was in as bad of a predicament as his brother was, the same couldn’t be said for the building they were in.

As soon as John had found Gordon’s location, the half-built building decided that was the perfect moment to come down.

Debris from the building had trapped Virgil and the crew. The only way out, and to his brother, was for Virgil to move the debris with his exo-suit. It was slow work and took way too long for Virgil’s liking, and now that one mishap could have changed everything.

“I’m heading to him now, John,” Virgil told his other brother, who had been listening in on Virgil’s heart-aching conversation with Gordon. After Virgil’s last words with Gordon, he hadn’t heard another word from his little brother. He tried to tell himself that Gordon was saving oxygen by being quiet, but deep down he knew that wasn’t the truth.

“FAB,” John replied, his voice clipped in a way that meant he was trying to keep it together. He couldn’t lose it on the job. “Just find him.”

“I will.” Virgil knew he would. He just didn’t know if it would be quick enough.

Virgil landed at the graveyard quickly. It wasn’t far to fly to from the construction site, but it was still far enough that Virgil wondered how Gordon had ended up there. Virgil would have known if there was a vehicle near the rescue site, which meant that he would have gotten there on foot.

Virgil was moving to the module before the engines had fully switched off. He grabbed some of the smaller digging equipment they used. As efficient and quick as the mole could be, Gordon wasn’t that far underground and Virgil was not keen on the idea of driving the machine so close to his brother.

He went to leave the module, but hesitated when he passed the medical equipment. Without thinking about it for much longer, he grabbed an oxygen tank and mask too.

It was fortunately easy to find where his brother was buried. The ping of Gordon’s location took Virgil over to a small area of the graveyard, where there was one patch of upturned soil that indicated of a recent hole that had been filled in.

Virgil swiftly set the digging equipment on the dirt, and it was quickly on the job.

He could have kissed Brains right there and then at how quickly the equipment worked. It simultaneously dug the dirt out of the ground and deposited it onto a pile next to the hole that was quickly forming.

Virgil watched it work anxiously, and let out the breath he’d been holding when he heard the clang of a shovel hitting the buried wooden box.

He dropped to his knees and helped the machine move dirt off the top of the box. He soon had to drop down into the hole as it was getting too deep to reach the bottom. He found a small ledge to step on so as to not put his weight onto the box, and when enough of the dirt had cleared, he lifted the lid.

Virgil sucked in a breath at the sight that greeted him.

Gordon was lying in the box, which did indeed look disturbingly like a coffin. His arms were on his chest and his eyes were closed. His skin was pale and his lips were an alarming blue.

And he wasn’t breathing.

Virgil didn’t hesitate to scoop his brother gently out of the coffin and onto the grass. He climbed out of the hole and grabbed the oxygen mask he’d brought with him, before crouching next to his brother.

The mask was strapped on over Gordon’s nose and mouth, and Virgil turned to the tank to make sure it was distributing just the right amount of oxygen.

When Virgil felt for a pulse, he found one. He waited with baited breath to see if Gordon would react to the treatment, ready to perform CPR if it was necessary.

Then Gordon coughed. It was so small and quiet that Virgil wasn’t even sure if he’d heard correctly. But then Gordon coughed again, this time louder and more followed quickly after as he fell into a coughing fit.

His eyes never opened and after his hacking was over, he went limp again. His chest continued to rise and fall as his lungs took in the much needed oxygen, and Virgil slumped in relief. He wasn’t too late.

He informed John that he’d gotten Gordon out safely and then he picked his brother up off the ground, oxygen mask and all, and carried him carefully to Thunderbird 2’s infirmary.

When his little brother was lying safely on the bed, Virgil began to take stock of Gordon’s other injuries.

There was blood coming from a cut at the side of Gordon’s head, and the area around it looked like it was starting to bruise. There were also scratches and red marks all over Gordon’s hands, knuckles and fingers, and Virgil realised with a sickening thought that it was from Gordon trying to break his way out.

“How is he?” John popped up on the holoprojector situated in the infirmary, thankfully bringing Virgil out of his thoughts.

“His breathing is getting a little better, although it is still a bit shallow. There shouldn’t be any lasting damage, but we won’t know for sure until I run some more tests. He also likely has a concussion.”

Virgil turned to the supply drawer and took out a few things as John spoke again.

“I think I may have found out who did this.”

“Really?” Virgil looked up from where he was cleaning the blood off of Gordon’s face.

“Yeah. I managed to get into the security cameras off the construction site. One of them shows Gordon talking to a man.”

“A man?” Virgil queried when the footage replaced where John was.

It was an area just on the edge of the site. Gordon was talking to someone who Virgil didn’t recognise as any of the crew members, and there was no sound to know what they were talking about.

Virgil couldn’t quite tell what was happening from the angle, but his little brother had his hands up.

Then, he was darting towards the man, and then he was on the floor.

Virgil watched with anger seething inside of him as the man dragged his brother off camera.

“I did a bit of digging, and found out who this guy was,” John spoke as the footage disappeared and he was back once more. “He’s some criminal who has a lot of charges for burglary, and apparently there was a robbery at a jeweller’s right near where the rescue was.”

“But how does that explain him burying Gordon in a graveyard?” Virgil was clenching the cotton pad in his hand as he remembered what this man had done to his brother.

“I _think_ he may have done that in an attempt to distract you guys, and maybe the authorities as well, so he could get away. I still have no idea how he got him in the ground so quickly, but maybe the hole had already been dug.”

“Did it work?” Virgil dropped the crumpled piece of cotton into the bin and grabbed a fresh one to continue cleaning Gordon’s wound. “Did he get away?”

John was quiet for a very long moment and Virgil slowly looked up from his work again. When his eyes fixed onto his brother, he knew the answer without John having to speak.

“It doesn’t matter,” Virgil forced himself to let out a deep breath in a bid to keep calm. He couldn’t do anything about it right now. “What matters is that we got Gordon out of there.”

Virgil turned back to his brother who still had yet to wake up. He was comforted by the fact that Gordon’s chest still continued to rise and fall steadily, and his breath clouded the mask still over his mouth.

Virgil picked up one of his brother’s sore hands and held it gently in his own. He didn’t want to think about what had just happened, or what was to come. All he cared about was that his brother was safe.


End file.
